South Asia has such a dense history of ghastly violence that the series of Easter bombings at hotels and churches, including St. Sebastian’s Church, in Negombo, instantly brought other blasts to mind. (Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters)

Saudi Arabia Repatriates Sri Lankans Linked to Easter Bombings

Five Sri Lankans who are suspected to be in connection with the Easter Sunday bombings that killed 258 people were arrested in Saudi Arabia and repatriated on Friday (6/14), officials said. Mohamed Milhan was said to be among the suspects, who is a senior leader of the Sri Lankan Islamist group known as National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ). The group is believed to have splinted off from another hardline Islamist group in the country, the Sri Lanka Thowheed Jamath (SLTJ). The police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said that all the suspects were taken into custody in Saudi’s capital of Jeddah.

Gunasekera also said that the suspects were sent back to Sri Lanka by a team of Criminal Investigations Department on Friday morning.

It is reported the arrest of these five suspects were the second time abroad of the suspects linked to attacks that destroy three churches and three luxury hotels in Sri Lanka, which the Islamic States in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) claimed to take the responsibility.

Since the attacks, Sri Lanka has been under a state of emergency and the authorities have arrested more than 100 people who were linked to the NTJ, including the leader of the group, Hashim, who was also involved as suicide bombers attacking Shangri-La hotel in Colombo, and a parliament official.

Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/south-asia/uae-repatriates-sri-lankans-in-connection-with-easter-attacks